The Nuggets have had a banner season without having a superstar. The Golden State Warriors proved Tuesday night they can hang with them without their lone all-star.

Devastated by the loss of all-star forward David Lee to a torn hip flexor suffered in Saturday’s Game 1, the Warriors went out in Game 2 on Tuesday night at the Pepsi Center and outshot, outrebounded and, well, outcoached the heavily favored Nuggets for a 131-117 win.

Golden State coach Mark Jackson kept everyone guessing to the opening tip by not only holding his lineup cards close to his vest but openly lying about not starting guard Jarrett Jack in place of Lee.

“He’s not a power forward,” Jackson said, almost in jest of the pregame question.

However, there was Jack starting with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in a backcourt trio that gave the Nuggets absolute fits.

“We were able to match up better on defense,” Curry said. “Wilson (Chandler) had a good game for them (in Game 1) so to match up and put Harrison and Jarrett on guys their size, it helps us to stay at home and be disciplined.”

Led by Curry’s 30 points, the Warriors nearly got through the entire game with a three-guard lineup.

“When you’re talking about Curry and Thompson, they’re the greatest shooting backcourt in the history of the game,” Jackson said after the game. “I’m not just throwing it out there. I’ve been in basketball my whole life. I’ve watched great players. These two guys are absolutely off charts. I’d put Reggie Miller in there but I held him down.”

The Nuggets now go to Oakland with some serious doubts. It didn’t help coach George Karl’s pressure points when leading rebounder Kenneth Faried celebrated his return from a sprained ankle with no baskets and no rebounds through three quarters.

With Denver point guard Ty Lawson nearly 100 percent, the Nuggets still had the quickest player on the floor, but that didn’t mean the Warriors could be slowed. They finished 64.6 percent (51-of-79) from the field, and 56 percent from 3s (14-of-25).

“They are one of the best shooting teams in the NBA,” Karl said.

The smart money leading up to the game was on Curry having to channel his Davidson days and shoot as if Denver were The Citadel. He made up for his 1-for-10 half in Game 1 by pouring in 17 in the first half Tuesday, including 15 in the second quarter. He had 12 more in the third quarter.

The third-year pro was unstoppable at times. In one stretch, Curry hit a jumper over Faried, a fast-break jumper, a rainbow from the corner, a trey and a layup past a slow-footed Tyson. Curry scored 13 of 18 points as Golden State built a 56-45 lead.

However, Curry couldn’t do it alone. He can’t make up for the 6-foot-9 Lee. Jack celebrated his fifth start of the season by peppering the Nuggets with short runners on his way to hitting all four of his shots in the first quarter and scoring 10 points in the first half.

“You can sense when he’s getting rolling,” Jackson said of Curry. “I told them yesterday how excited I was, how I felt. Today I said again I feel great. How we care about each other, how we practice practice, keep our heads up, way we work, sense that this is something special. No matter what type of adversity we face.”

Also pitching in were 6-9 Carl Landry, Lee’s expected replacement, who had five points and four rebounds, and Draymond Green, whose seven minutes were nearly twice what he played in Game 1.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill didn’t know what to do when he started hearing thousands of people in Arrowhead Stadium chanting his name, even as he stood all alone on the frozen turf waiting for the punt.